Dynamic VLAN IP network entry

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for tagging packets in a wireless network are described. The methods can comprise detecting initial entry of subscriber equipment into a wireless network at a first base station and generating a network tag for the subscriber equipment, the network tag associating the subscriber equipment with the first base station. The tag can be distributed to other base stations and, upon reentry of the subscriber equipment to the network, a network connection can be configured for the subscriber equipment based on the tag. Detecting initial entry includes receiving a network entry packet including a unique identifier associated with the subscriber equipment. The network connection can be configured by providing an IP address assigned to the subscriber equipment and the IP address may be distributed through a relay agent instantiated for the network connection. The network tag can be an IEEE 802.1q tag, MPLS tag, etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/748,468, filed May 14, 2007 and entitled“Dynamic VLAN IP Network Entry,” now U.S. Pat. No. 8,665,871, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/747,170, filed May 12, 2006 and entitled “Dynamic VLAN IP NetworkEntry,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/747,165,filed May 12, 2006 and entitled “Dynamic VLANs,” all of which areincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to wireless terminals and moreparticularly to the mobility of addressing in wireless networks.

2. Description of Related Art

Wireless Broadband Access (“WBA”) based systems have been designed tohave operational characteristics that are indistinguishable from Cableor DSL methods of broadband access from the viewpoint of the customer.However, wireless systems are subject to network termination resultingfrom signal fading and subscriber mobility and subscriber equipment maybe connected to the network through any of multiple network terminationpoints. In contrast, DSL Modems can connect to a single DSLAM along asingle physical cable that is shielded against external noise and thus,DSL systems does exhibit fading or have multiple termination points. Incable systems, a shielded coaxial cable connects the modem to a CMTS andrelatively minor fading occurs due to various factors. Even in amultiple CMTS system, every CMTS experiences similar levels of fadingand a cable modem is typically redirected to its originally connectedCMTS when a disconnection occurs.

Wireless systems may be viewed as multiple logical modems connectedthrough different Network Termination points via different virtualcables, where the system is able to pick the best signal strength at thetime that it is connected to an end-point. As time passes fading on thevirtual cable causes the logical modem to disconnect from its currentbase station and the subscriber station directs the modem to reconnectbased on best available signal strength. This behavior can be repeatedmany times. Fading may be apparently random or based on predictablepatterns.

Customer premises equipment (“CPE”), such as a personal computer (“PC”),may respond to fading by disconnecting from the network. Uponreconnection, conventional systems generally assign a new IP addressthereby causing shut-down all prior network connections in use byapplication in the CPE. Active connections, whether IP streaming ordownload in progress, have to be terminated and re-started using thenewly-obtained IP address. Also, in many business uses, connections aremade from the Internet to the CPE as well from the CPE to the Internet.For these connections, the CPE IP address must be advertised whenchanged. Even when a dynamic domain name service (“dynamic DNS”) methodis implemented, DNS update can be a slow process, taking hours andsometimes days to propagate through the Internet.

For bridged base stations, the interaction of the base stations betweenwhich the subscriber connection transfers is significant. If the basestations are not in the same layer-2 network, then the latterlydescribed problems apply. When the two base stations are within the samelayer-2 network, the CPE need not change IP addresses and generallyexperiences a brief period of packet drop measurable in seconds.However, a new set of network topology problems will be observed. Forexample, any broadcast packet will be repeated over all connected basestations, potentially causing a broadcast storm. Malicious users coulduse broadcast storms to run theft of service and denial of serviceattacks. Furthermore, identification and debugging of network problemsis made difficult.

The use of Dynamic VLANs may solve broadcast storm issues and mayprovide some IP address mobility. However, the initial IP address andVLAN assignment process can cause random distribution of IP addresses,resulting in an expanded and sometimes uncontrollable broadcast domain.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method for taggingpackets in a wireless network, comprising detecting at a first basestation, initial entry of subscriber equipment into a wireless network,generating a unique network tag for the subscriber equipment, thenetwork tag associating the subscriber equipment with the first basestation, distributing the unique network tag to one or more other basestations, and configuring a network connection for the subscriberequipment based on the unique network tag upon reentry of the subscriberequipment to the network.

In certain embodiments, the configuring the network connection includesproviding an IP address assigned to the subscriber equipment. In certainembodiments, the IP address is distributed through a relay agentinstantiated for the network connection. In certain embodiments, theunique network tag is an IEEE 802.1q tag. In certain, the unique networktag is an MPLS tag.

Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method for managing entryof subscriber equipment into a virtual local area network (“VLAN”),comprising providing a base station with a plurality of networkaddresses associated with one or more VLANs, detecting initial entry ofsubscriber equipment into a wireless network at the base station,assigning a tag to the subscriber equipment that uniquely identifies thenew subscriber equipment to the network, and distributing the tag to atleast one other base station, wherein upon subsequent connections of thesubscriber equipment, the at least one other base station is configuredto connect the subscriber equipment to a VLAN identified by the tag.

In certain embodiments, the detecting initial entry includes the stepsof receiving a network entry packet at the one base station, the networkentry packet including a unique identifier associated with thesubscriber equipment and adding the unique identifier to a listcomprising a plurality of unique identifiers. In certain embodiments,the method further comprises propagating the list to the at least oneother base station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structural and functional aspects of the invention will becomeunderstood by those skilled in the art by reference to the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a simple example of a wireless network;

FIG. 2 depicts a network configuration comprising bridged and routedbase stations;

FIG. 3 depicts components of a base station configured according tocertain aspects of the invention; and

FIGS. 4A-9B depict communications transactions according to certainaspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the drawings, which are provided as illustrativeexamples so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention. Notably, the figures and examples below are not meant tolimit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment, butother embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all ofthe described or illustrated elements. Wherever convenient, the samereference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to sameor like parts. Where certain elements of these embodiments can bepartially or fully implemented using known components, only thoseportions of such known components that are necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention will be described, and detaileddescriptions of other portions of such known components will be omittedso as not to obscure the invention. In the present specification, anembodiment showing a singular component should not be consideredlimiting; rather, the invention is intended to encompass otherembodiments including a plurality of the same component, and vice-versa,unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. Moreover, applicants do notintend for any term in the specification or claims to be ascribed anuncommon or special meaning unless explicitly set forth as such.Further, the present invention encompasses present and future knownequivalents to the components referred to herein by way of illustration.

Certain embodiments enable the provision of wireless broadband accessservices that appear to have the same characteristics as wired ADSL orcable network services. Accordingly, inherent differences betweenwireless and wired network designs are accommodated and, in someembodiments, concealed. Differences between wired and wireless servicesinclude the effects of unpredictable fading that can occur in wirelessnetworks and which can cause a subscriber station to occasionallydisconnect from one base station and reconnect to a different basestation.

With reference to FIG. 1, certain embodiments employ an architecturethat can be implemented without significantly increasing systemoperational complexity and requiring little additional computationpower. In one example, a subscriber station 14 includes a networkinterface 140 that can detect a first base station 11 and a second basestation 12. The base stations 11 and 12 may provide signals from thesame network using same or different frequencies, same or differentmodulation schemes and same or different data encoding standards. Insome embodiments, subscriber station 14 may be configurable tocommunicate with base stations of different wireless networks. Certainaspects of the invention facilitate the construction of low-cost,reliable networks using, at the core, existing wireless infrastructureand components. Certain embodiments provide configuration methodstogether with a plurality of components, features and capabilities thataddress issues existing in conventional systems. In one example, theprovided components can include debugging and maintenance tools thatease management of layer-2 networks that are otherwise difficult tomaintain and debug due to their inherently flat topography. Debuggingand maintenance tools may be configured and operated using customizedconfiguration methods and interfaces. In many embodiments, thearchitecture may be implemented from combinations of existing networkequipment.

FIG. 2 provides a simplified illustration of network topographies thatcan be used to connect base stations. In the example provided, routedbase stations 240, 242, 244 and 246 connect to one another and to anetwork 20 through routers 220 and 222. Bridged base stations 280, 282,284 and 286 connect to one another through bridge 26 which typicallyconnects to the network 20 using a router 224. Certain embodimentsaddress issues associated with conventional bridged and routed basestations and with conventional hybrid networks that include bridging androuting of base stations. For the purposes of convenience and clarity,the descriptions will highlight methods and systems that address issuesprevalent in conventional flat networks that have large numbers ofend-nodes, including flat bridged networks.

Certain embodiments provide dynamic tagging of packets at base stations.Dynamic tagging typically assigns tags to packets based on the interfaceat which the packet is received and based on other parameters. In oneexample, standards-based solutions can adapt and utilize existingtechnologies, such as IEEE 802.1Q VLANS standards. Broadcast messagesare not relayed indiscriminately across the network, but are insteadrebroadcast only to interfaces that are associated with a common VLANtag. Dynamic tagging by base stations can resolve issues in conventionalnetworks that provide no reliable agent to tag packets. For example,computer premises equipment cannot be trusted to tag packetsconsistently and subscriber stations are not required by WiMAX standardsto tag packets with persistent VLAN information.

Referring to FIG. 3, in certain embodiments, a base station 30 can beadapted and configured using combinations of hardware and software 34 totag packets 320 with proper VLAN identification. Typically, the adaptedbase station 30 is provided with a table 36 for mapping InternetProtocol (“IP”) and media access control (“MAC”) addresses to one ormore VLAN tags. A received packet 320 can be tagged and associated withan appropriate VLAN tag when the packet 320 includes an IP and/or MACaddress maintained in the table 36.

In certain embodiments, dynamic tagging is implemented using linksession information. The link session information can include acombination of elements such as subscriber station identification, basestation identification and MAC address of a subscriber station host. Thelink session information can be accumulated and provided by the basestation. Thus, dynamic tagging permits packet tagging based oninformation that is not limited to the interface at which the packet isreceived.

In certain embodiments, a base station can use packet tags to indicate alink which is associated with the host/subscriber station. Acorresponding IP address can be distributed through a relay agentinstantiated for the link. In one example, packet tagging can conform tostandards such as the IEEE 802.1q VLAN standard. In another example,packet tagging can utilize other types of tags such as MPLS tags. Incertain embodiments, a base station can use VLAN tags that arestatically configured in the base station. When the base stationreceives a packet it may tag the packet with a corresponding configuredVLAN tag.

In certain embodiments, a router located at the edge of a layer-2network can be configured such that each VLAN tag or each group of VLANtags is associated with a virtual interface. A virtual interface can beprovided such that the instantiation of the virtual interface can beconfigured based on the IP addressing needs of each base station. Itwill be appreciated that, in such embodiments, a router interface iseffectively extended to the base station. In certain embodiments, a basestation may use a Vendor Class Identifier or any other identifier toselect a tag for a packet.

In certain embodiments, persistent storage is provided to maintaininformation describing a network configuration and traffic on thenetwork. This information may indicate rules to be used in routing andtagging packets captured at a base station or subscriber station. Theinformation may be stored as an addressable table, database or in anyother suitable format. The information may be stored anywhere on thenetwork and multiple copies may be maintained on one or more basestations and subscriber stations. In one example, tags and uniqueidentifiers associated with subscriber equipment can be stored on one ormore servers accessible to base stations in the network.

In certain embodiments network entry packets can be treated as specialand processed as if obtained from a special interface. Network entrypackets can include DHCP DISCOVER or PPPoE Active Discover Initiationpackets. These network entry packets can be tagged using tagging methodsdifferent from the methods used for other packet types. Specific networkentry behavior can be defined that simultaneously provides mobility ofIP addresses through the use of dynamic VLANs and a fine-grained controlof IP address distribution.

In one example, VLAN tags for IP network entry packets may be staticallyconfigured for each base station. A virtual interface can be assignedfor each VLAN tag and configured as a DHCP relay agent. In someembodiments, a configuration process is implemented that operates insimilar fashion to the process used for extending a router's virtualinterface to a base station in handling DHCP packets. However, aspectsof the present invention can accommodate dynamic VLAN behavior directlythereby permitting the provision of configurations adapted for otherhosts and providing IP mobility without requiring the use ofconventional mobile IP.

In certain embodiments of the invention, a VLAN tag can be fixed forcertain network elements and hosts that are located behind certainsubscriber stations. The illusion of fixed IP addresses for such networkelements and hosts can be created even if subsequent network entry ismade through a different base station. Furthermore, these capabilitiescan be provided without requiring providers to enter MAC addresses ofhosts and subscriber stations to a DHCP server, and without requiringthe use of customized DHCP code as is generally needed in conventionalsystems. It will be appreciated that conventional systems and methodsoften require reconfiguration of DHCP server data whenever a subscribermoves nomadically or otherwise between base stations. In conventionalsystems, the continual addition of subscriber station and base stationinformation can render the process of re-configuration impractical. Theunpredictable nature of RF links makes it very difficult or impossiblefor providers to envision all potential combinations of connection casesand pre-configure DHCP servers accordingly.

In certain embodiments of the invention, subscriber equipment can beassociated with information regarding the base station at which thesubscriber equipment initially entered the network. This information canbe maintained in one or more databases and can be propagated through thenetwork. The information can then be used to associate the subscriberequipment with packets regardless of changes in physical location of thesubscriber equipment. Simply put, the configuration of the base stationat which the network entry was made, or the base station at which a VLANtag was loaded through a database located somewhere inside the networkmay be selectively used for VLAN tagging. Typically, entry ofinformation can be made in a layer-2 network where IP mobility isdesired. In many embodiments, the IP addresses will be initiallyassigned where the IP network entry is made.

Thus, and as illustrated below, in certain embodiments, subscriberequipment is associated with a network and/or network connection uponfirst entry to the network. The association is tied to the base stationat the point of initial entry and a tag is generated. The tag can bedistributed with a unique identifier to a plurality of other basestations such that, upon reentry, the network is configured to providethe subscriber station with the appearance of connection through thebase station at which initial entry was made. This process can result ina transparent or virtual network connection from the subscriber stationperspective.

Typically, a base station maintains a connectivity table that containsparameters including addresses associated with customer premises (“CPE”)equipment including CPE and subscriber station MAC addresses(“CPE_MAC_address”and “CPE_connected_SS_MAC_address”), IP address(“CPE_IP_address” and “CPE_Gateway_IP_address”). This table cantypically be searched by any of the identifiers. The connectivity tablefor customer premises equipment may be initialized to predeterminedvalues. In the examples provided in Figs. 4A-9B, the meaning of theentries is as follows:

-   -   CPE_MAC_address: indicates the MAC address for the CPE that this        entry is valid for. If this field is zero, the BS can populate        the field with new information. If the BS has CPE        connectivity_table entries returned but no new elements are        available, the BS will drop the network entry packets.    -   CPE_IP_address: If the CPE IP address is zero the CPE with MAC        address CPE_MAC_address is not allowed to use IP address unless        it runs through IP network entry.    -   CPE_VLAN_tag: The CPE VLAN tag is the tag that must be used by        the BS for all packets that are not network entry packets for        CPE_MAC_address and CPE_IP_address. If this field is zero it        means that there is no VLAN tag associated with this field and        the packets must be sent with no tags for this CPE.    -   CPE_home_VLAN_flag: This field is to be used as a Boolean field        today but it is strongly suggested that this field to be used as        a bit field of first bit of a byte so that future extension to        this field as generic flag usage will be possible. If this field        is true, the IP network entry packets will use VLAN tags as        configured in the BS. If this field is false the IP network        entry packets will use the VLAN tags as indicated in the        CPE_VLAN_tag field. The existence of a zero CPE_home_VLAN_flag        and CPE_MAC_address is zero is allowed and means that the        unspecified CPE is to use the CPE_home_VLAN_flag for IP network        entry packets.    -   CPE_Connected_SS_MAC_address: This field will always be        populated when a CPE entry in connectivity table exists. The        field states that all the packets coming for this table entry        must be coming though the SS whose MAC address is the same as        CPE_Connected_SS_MAC_address.    -   CPE_Gateway_IP_address: This field must not be zero if the        CP_IP_address is not set to zero. If the CPE_IP_address is zero        this field must be set or assumed as zero.

A connectivity_table entry for a subscriber station can have thefollowing format:

-   -   SS_MAC_address: The field must always be populated. The field        indicates a registered SS with the MAC address.    -   SS_VLAN_tag: The SS_VLAN_tag is the tag that must be used by the        BS for all packets that are not network entry packets for        SS_MAC_address. If this field is zero it means that there is no        VLAN tag associated with this field and the packets must be sent        with no tags for this SS.    -   SS_home_VLAN_flag: This field is to be used as a Boolean field        today but it is strongly suggested that this field to be used as        a bit field of first bit of a byte so that future extension to        this field as generic flag usage will be possible. If this field        is true, the IP network entry packets will use VLAN tags as        configured in the BS. If this field is false the IP network        entry packets will use the VLAN tags as indicated in the        SS_VLAN_tag_field.

Typically, a base station is configured with primary and secondaryaddresses that can be defined through DNS. Each wireless interface of abase station can have an SS_Home_VLAN_ID (HomeID) configured for thesubscriber station. Where an SS_Home_VLAN_ID is not configured, the basestation may refrain from tagging packets coming from the subscriberstation. Where a CPE_Home_VLAN_ID is not configured for CPEs, the BS maynot tag broadcast DHCP packets coming from the CPE. However, if thecorresponding CPE_home_VLAN_flag is true, the CPE_VLAN_tag may be usedas indicated in BS.11.

A base station is typically configured with a default CPE_Home_VLAN_IDfor any CPE connected using PPPoE. Subnet settings may be maintainedthat take the form of address and mask where the address does not haveto be an address belonging to the base station, and the VCI field is ina form having less than 255 octets. The base station in one example canbe configured for at least 8 CPE_Home_VLAN_ID tags for CPE using IPsubnet or VCI as a field.

In certain embodiments, a base station can intercept DHCP Discovermessages coming from its wireless interface. The base station may tagthe broadcast DHCP Discover messages with appropriate VLAN tag. Incertain embodiments, upon reception of DHCP Offer message reply tobroadcast DHCP DISCOVER message, the base station may create aconnectivity_table_entry in its connectivity table using DHCP Offerinformation and a VLAN_ID provided in a corresponding DHCP Offer messageand identification of a Gateway assigned to the CPE. In another example,a DHCP ACK message may be used in place of the DHCP Offer message.

Typically, a base station will create a connectivity_table_entrywhenever it detects a broadcast PPPoE Active Discover Initiation packetusing the PPPoE VLAN-ID for PPPoE CPEs. When a connectivity_table_entryis created via the DHCP process, the BS may update a centralizedPersistent Storage (PS) with the connectivity_table_entry information.When the base station receives an ARP message/RARP message from itsnetwork interface that indicates the IP address belongs to some otherSS/CPE, the BS may reset its connectivity_table_entry for that entityand update the PS. The base station may be able to age theconnectivity_table_entry by changing its state from active to inactiveper ARP table rules.

Upon receiving an IP packet from CPE, a base station may use itsconnectivity_table to check whether the packets IP and MAC addresspaired with connectivity_table_entry, and whether the pair is assignedto the SS with the right MAC address in the sameconnectivity_table_entry. Upon receiving a PPP packet from the CPE, abase station may use its connectivity_table to check whether the CPE isassigned to the SS with the right MAC address. The base station may tagevery air-interface ingress packet with proper CPE_VLAN_tag as indicatedin its connectivity_table_entry for the CPE using MAC address as theidentifier. Upon receiving a packet through air-interface which is notIP network entry packet and is not within its connectivity_table, a basestation may drop the packet and report the event and log it accordinglywhich is to be filtered by a switch in the CLI.

In certain embodiments, the architecture includes persistent storage formaintaining connectivity_table entries. Persistent storage typically canprovide all connectivity_table entries associated with theSS_MAC_address. Typically, persistent storage can be updated upondiscovery of new or changed information concerning the network. Updatesmay be automatic and, in some embodiments, a user may modify informationmaintained in the persistent storage.

Additional Descriptions of Certain Aspects of the Invention

Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method for taggingpackets in a wireless network, comprising detecting at a first basestation, initial entry of subscriber equipment into a wireless network,generating a unique network tag for the subscriber equipment, thenetwork tag associating the subscriber equipment with the first basestation, distributing the unique network tag to one or more other basestations, and configuring a network connection for the subscriberequipment based on the unique network tag upon reentry of the subscriberequipment to the network. In some of these embodiments, the detectinginitial entry includes the step of receiving a network entry packet atthe first base station, the network entry packet including a uniqueidentifier associated with the subscriber equipment. In some of theseembodiments, the reentry is detected at a second base station differentfrom the first base station. In some of these embodiments, distributingincludes adding the unique network tag and a unique identifier receivedfrom the subscriber equipment to a list comprising a plurality of uniqueidentifiers and corresponding unique network tags and distributing atleast a portion of the list to the one or more other base stations. Insome of these embodiments, the configuring the network connectionincludes providing an IP address assigned to the subscriber equipment.In some of these embodiments, the IP address is distributed through arelay agent instantiated for the network connection. In some of theseembodiments, the unique network tag is an IEEE 802.1q tag. In some ofthese embodiments, the unique network tag is an MPLS tag. In some ofthese embodiments, the method further comprises attaching the uniquenetwork tag to packets directed to the subscriber station and receivedat any of the one or more base stations. In some of these embodiments,the method further comprises attaching the unique network tag to packetsreceived from the subscriber station at any of the one or more basestations. In some of these embodiments, the unique identifier includes amedia access address associated with the subscriber equipment. In someof these embodiments, the subscriber equipment includes a personalcomputer. In some of these embodiments, the generating includesassigning the subscriber equipment to a virtual network associated withthe first base station.

Furthermore, certain embodiments of the invention provide a method formanaging entry of subscriber equipment into a virtual local area network(“VLAN”), comprising providing a base station with a plurality ofnetwork addresses associated with one or more VLANs, detecting initialentry of subscriber equipment into a wireless network at the basestation, assigning a tag to the subscriber equipment that uniquelyidentifies the new subscriber equipment to one or more selectednetworks, and distributing the tag to at least one other base station,wherein upon subsequent connections of the subscriber equipment, the atleast one other base station is configured to connect the subscriberequipment to transparently connect the subscriber equipment to theselected network. In some of these embodiments, the detecting initialentry includes the steps of receiving a network entry packet at the onebase station, the network entry packet including a unique identifierassociated with the subscriber equipment and adding the uniqueidentifier to a list comprising a plurality of unique identifiers. Insome of these embodiments, the method further comprises propagating thelist to the at least one other base station. In some of theseembodiments, the unique identifier includes a media access addressassociated with the subscriber equipment. In some of these embodiments,the subscriber equipment includes a personal computer. In some of theseembodiments, the tag is associated with an IP address assigned to thesubscriber equipment.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be evident to one of ordinaryskill in the art that various modifications and changes may be made tothese embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; a memoryincluding instructions configured to cause the processor to perform amethod, the method comprising: detecting initial entry of subscriberequipment into a wireless network at a first base station; assigning atag to the subscriber equipment that creates an association of thesubscriber equipment with the first base station; and providing toanother base station a plurality of unique identifiers and correspondingtags, wherein the plurality of unique identifiers and corresponding tagsincludes the tag assigned to the subscriber equipment and a uniqueidentifier of the subscriber equipment, wherein upon reentry of thesubscriber equipment into the wireless network through the other basestation, the other base station resumes the network connection at theother base station based on the tag as provided to the other basestation by the system, wherein the other base station retrieves the tagbased on the unique identifier received from the subscriber equipmentduring reentry through the other base station, and wherein the networkconnection maintains the association of the subscriber equipment withthe first base station based on the tag.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the system is the first base station.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the detecting initial entry includes the steps of: receiving anetwork entry packet at the first base station, the network entry packetincluding the unique identifier of the subscriber equipment; and addingthe unique identifier to a list comprising the plurality of uniqueidentifiers and corresponding tags.
 4. The system of claim 3, the methodfurther comprising propagating the plurality of unique identifiers andcorresponding tags to the other base station.
 5. The system of claim 3,wherein the unique identifier includes a media access address associatedwith the subscriber equipment.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thesubscriber equipment includes a personal computer.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the tag is associated with an IP address assigned tothe subscriber equipment.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein thedetecting initial entry includes the steps of: receiving a packet at thefirst base station, the packet including the unique identifier of thesubscriber equipment; and adding the unique identifier to a listcomprising the plurality of unique identifiers and corresponding tags.9. The system of claim 1, wherein the tag is a network tag.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the network tag is an IEEE 802.1q tag. 11.The system of claim 9, wherein the network tag is an MPLS tag.
 12. Asystem comprising: means for detecting initial entry of subscriberequipment into a wireless network at a first base station; means forassigning a tag to the subscriber equipment that creates an associationof the subscriber equipment with the first base station; and means forproviding to another base station a plurality of unique identifiers andcorresponding tags, wherein the plurality of unique identifiers andcorresponding tags includes the tag assigned to the subscriber equipmentand a unique identifier of the subscriber equipment, wherein uponreentry of the subscriber equipment into the wireless network throughthe other base station, the other base station resumes the networkconnection at the other base station based on the tag as provided to theother base station by the system, wherein the other base stationretrieves the tag based on the unique identifier received from thesubscriber equipment during reentry through the other base station, andwherein the network connection maintains the association of thesubscriber equipment with the first base station based on the tag.
 13. Asystem comprising: means for detecting, at a first base station, initialentry of subscriber equipment into a wireless network based on a uniqueidentifier of the subscriber equipment; means for generating a networktag for the subscriber equipment to create an association of thesubscriber equipment with the first base station; means for providing toone or more other base stations a plurality of unique identifiers andcorresponding network tags that include the network tag for thesubscriber equipment and the unique identifier of the subscriberequipment; means for configuring a network connection for the subscriberequipment at the first base station based on the network tag such thatthe network tag associates the network connection with the first basestation; and upon the subscriber equipment reentering the wirelessnetwork through a second base station of the one or more other basestations, means for resuming the network connection at the second basestation based on the network tag for the subscriber equipment asprovided to the second base station, wherein the second base stationretrieves the network tag based on the unique identifier received fromthe subscriber equipment during reentry through the second base station,and the network connection maintains the association of the subscriberequipment with the first base station based on the network tag.